New York City Council Approves Ban on Metal Bats

The New York City Council passed a bill today banning the use of metal bats in high school baseball games, securing enough votes to override a potential veto by Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg and setting up a possible legal challenge from the metal bat industry.

Industry officials, who opposed the bill, said they believed the council was the first legislative body in the nation to pass such a measure. It also marks a long-sought victory for the bill’s original sponsor, James S. Oddo, a Staten Island Republican who began pushing for a ban that would have included Little League and independent leagues more than six years ago against intense opposition led by bat manufacturers. Mr. Oddo later narrowed his bill to draw broader council support.

“I know this is not the most pressing issue on the minds of New Yorkers,” he said shortly before the vote, “but I really believe in this bill. There is risk in all sports, and there is risk in baseball playing with a wooden bat, but when the risk becomes unreasonable, people have to act.”